


Count On Me

by dementorsatemysoup



Series: Post Season Four [5]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: A Dash of Protective Mickey, A Tiny Bit of Hurt Lip, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Mickey and Liam Bond, liam being a cutie pie, root beer floats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-02
Updated: 2014-06-02
Packaged: 2018-02-03 03:10:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1728842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dementorsatemysoup/pseuds/dementorsatemysoup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mickey unintentionally bonds with Liam.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Count On Me

**Author's Note:**

> I've seen a lot of posts on tumblr about Mickey and Liam bonding, so I took a crack at writing a bonding fic between the two... I also added some Mickey x Ian because it's not a Shameless fic without those two .
> 
> Thanks for reading, I don't own these characters, and drop me a comment if you can.
> 
> Bye!

The first time Ian leaves Liam with Mickey, the redhead has to run a few errands and Fiona won't be home for another twenty-five minutes.

"What the fuck am I supposed to do with him?" Mickey grumbles glancing down at the three-year-old. Liam smiles back at him before returning his gaze to the cartoon on the TV.

"He likes toys, play with him," Ian replies counting the change on the table. "If he gets hungry you make him a sandwich or give him some animal crackers. There’s juice in the fridge if he gets thirsty." Ian slides the coins from the table with one hand, directly into his other, getting to his feet.

"Why can’t you take him with you?" Mickey asks crossing his arms, looking down at the toddler again.

"You’ll be fine," Ian states giving Mickey a quick kiss. He turns his attention to Liam, ruffling his brother’s hair. "You be good for Mickey, okay?"

"Kay," Liam answers without looking away from the TV. Ian gives Mickey one, final smile before walking out of the house, closing the door behind him.

Mickey watches Liam warily, waiting for the kid to start spitting or screaming or anything remotely bothersome, but the kid just keeps watching his show. Slowly, satisfied that Liam isn’t going to be a problem, Mickey sits down next to the kid.

"You need to piss or anything?" he asks cautiously, silently hoping the kid’s good in that department, and he breathes a bit easier when Liam shakes his head. "Good."

He grabs one of Debbie’s text books off the coffee table, flipping through it, attempting a few of the math problems. He’d always been pretty good with numbers, his brothers leaving him in charge of the money during and after deals, so the problems weren't as difficult as they could have been, and he even left a few notes in the margins for no other reason than a secret ‘fuck you’ to the education system.

Liam pokes him in the side, startling the older boy, and says, “I’m thirsty.”

"You want a drink?" When the kid nods, Mickey tosses the book onto the coffee table and stands, walking into the kitchen. He had spent enough time at the Gallaghers to know where the cups were kept, even recognizes the ‘Chicago White Sux’ mug he had brought Ian as a joke two weeks ago.

Mickey finds a small, plastic, green cup in the back of the cabinet, standing on his toes to pull it down. He pours apple juice into the cup, returning to the living room after putting the jug away.

"Here," he says handing the cup over, sitting back down, reclaiming Debbie’s math book.

Liam pokes him again, and when Mickey looks down at him, the kid offers him his cup. “You want some?”

"No thanks. That’s yours." Liam shrugs, sipping his juice contently, and Mickey adds another note to the margin only to jump up quickly when he feels something wet and cold seep into his jeans.

"Oops," Liam says his green cup continuing to spill apple juice all over the couch.

"Aw fuck," Mickey complains awkwardly picking the kid up and placing him on the floor. "Go change your pants." He points to the stairs and Liam disappears up the steps. Still dripping, Mickey returns to the kitchen, grabbing a half a roll of papertowels.

He’s never watching Liam again.

* * *

The second time Ian leaves Liam alone with Mickey, the older boy doesn’t realize he’s done it. He wakes to pounding on his door and Svetlana calling, “Wake up. You need to watch babies.”

"Babies?" Mickey murmurs wondering when the fuck Svetlana had another kid. He rolls out of bed, pulling on a pair of sweats, and opens his door. "Did you have another fucking kid without telling me?"

"No," Svetlana answers gesturing behind her with her head. Mickey looks over, his eyes settling on Yev in his bouncy chair and Liam sitting on the floor rolling a car back and forth, blissfully unaware of anything going on around him. "Orange Boy left his brother for Mandy to watch. She had to take extra shift. Asked if you could do it."

"What about you?" Mickey returns his attention to Svetlana.

"I have work. Orange Boy will be back by noon." She gives Mickey a small smirk before heading towards the door. "I will be late tonight."

The moment she’s gone, Yev lets out a piercing wail. It’s too fucking early for this, but Mickey still steps forward, pulling the baby from the chair.

"You good?" he asks Liam, but the kid doesn’t respond. Figuring the kid’s fine, Mickey carries Yev into the kitchen. "Have you eaten? Did you shit?" Mickey immediately dismisses the latter question, having smelled Yev firsthand post-shit, and decides to heat up a bottle.

He carries the newly heated bottle and Yev back into the living room, taking a seat on the couch. He gives his son the bottle, noticing Liam watching him, and he asks, “You need anything?”

"Can I try?" Liam asks pointing at Yev.

"What?" Mickey glances down, watching his son drink greedily from the bottle. "You wanna feed him?" Liam nods, no longer interested in his car, already getting to his feet. "Alright," Mickey agrees with a shrug, moving over a bit so Liam can scramble onto the couch.

He helps the younger boy hold Yev properly, handing over the bottle, showing him how to tilt it just enough so the baby can take more greedy sips but not choke.

"I’m doin’ it," Liam says proudly, a beaming smile on his face.

"Yeah, kid, you are," Mickey replies ruffling the kid’s hair. Maybe watching Liam isn’t so bad.

* * *

 

The third time Ian leaves Liam with Mickey, the redhead is trying to track down the ice cream cart.

"Just five minutes," Ian says already jogging away. Mickey watches him go, feeling Liam’s eyes on him. He waits another two seconds before glancing down at the kid.

"Wanna slide," Liam states jumping off the bench they sat on, grabbing Mickey’s hand. "Please," he adds when the older boy wouldn’t get up. Mickey sighs but stands up, allowing Liam to drag him towards the playground equipment.

"Stand here," Liam commands pointing to the end of the slide. With an eye roll, Mickey complies, watching as Liam runs around the slide and climbs up the ladder.

"Catch me," he yells and promptly slides, belly first, towards Mickey. At the last possible minute, the older boy steps forward and stops the kid from face planting into the ground.

Swinging him around, placing Liam back onto the ground, Mickey asks, “You gonna go again?”

"Yeah!" Liam runs back towards the ladder, climbing up as quickly as he can, and this time slides down backwards. Like before, Mickey waits until the last possible second, grabbing Liam before he can fall off the slide, and swings him around again.

When he sets the younger boy onto the ground, Mickey gestures to the slide, wondering if he wants to go again, but Liam instead beckons to Mickey to pick him up and asks, “Can you swing me around again?”

"Uh, sure," Mickey answers and gathers the kid into his arms, swinging him in a full circle. Liam giggles, requesting he do it again, and Mickey complies.

He’s unaware of Ian standing by the swings, snapping a photo with his phone, and won’t see the picture until later that day. It’s no ones business but his own if Mickey uses it for his own phone’s wallpaper.

* * *

 

The fourth time Ian leaves Liam with Mickey, the redhead is in a hurry, worried out of his mind, and partially unaware he does it. The two boys were on the couch, Mickey’s back pressed into the couch cushions as Ian sucked a hickey into the side of his neck, when the redhead’s phone rang.

Groaning, dropping his forehead against Mickey’s collarbone, Ian gropes around until his hand wraps around his cellphone. He picks it up, not bothering to check the screen, and answers with an annoyed, “This had better be import…” he trails off, sitting up quickly, his knees still bracketing Mickey.

"Yes, I’m his brother," Ian says slowly swinging his legs off of Mickey, getting to his feet. "When?" he asks already heading towards the door, ignoring the questioning look Mickey threw him. "Yeah, I can be there in a few."

"What’s up?" Mickey asks sitting up, watching Ian warily.

"Uh, I don’t…" Ian doesn’t finish his statement, grabbing his jacket. "I’ll be back. Watch Liam, please."

Mickey wants to ask, the words right on the tip of his tongue, but he sees the worry in Ian’s eyes, the redhead’s bottom lip tucked between his teeth, and just nods.

"Alright, but you call me when you can, you hear me?" Ian nods, already heading out the door, and Mickey has to get up to close it.

He returns to the living room, finding Liam watching him from the stairs. Mickey and the kid hold eye contact for a brief moment before he gestures to the couch.

Liam pads down the stairs, scrambling onto the sofa next to Mickey, laying his head against the older boy’s side. Mickey looks down at him for a few seconds before grabbing the remote and turning the TV on.

A few hours later, Mickey is startled awake by a hand gripping the back of his neck. He sits up, half covering Liam with his body, expecting a robber or something, but instead he finds Ian sitting next to him.

Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Mickey asks, “Everything alright?”

"Yeah." Ian nods, Mickey now aware of the commotion going on around him. "Lip fell down some steps, broke his ankle. Everything’s fine."

"That nurse made us worry," Fiona adds taking a seat in the recliner while Lip carefully sits on the couch, minding his ankle and the still sleeping Liam. "She coulda told us it wasn’t anything too serious over the phone."

"I don’t think hospitals are supposed to discuss patients over the phone, Fi," Lip points out leaning into the couch, his eyes half closed.

"She still didn’t have to make us think you were half dead," Ian argues half leaning against Mickey’s side. "I thought you were bleeding to death."

"Me too," Fiona murmurs watching her brother worriedly.

“‘m fine,” Lip grunts already mostly asleep. Fiona watches him for a few more seconds, standing when she’s sure he’s asleep, running a hand through his hair.

"Make sure he lays down," she tells Ian, gathering Liam into her arms. Before heading upstairs, she gives Mickey a small smile and says, "Thanks for watching Liam."

"Don’t worry about it," Mickey replies with a shrug. She looks like she wants to touch him, maybe pat his shoulder or his knee, but she refrains, and with one, final goodnight, Fiona heads upstairs.

"You staying here tonight?" Ian asks curiously, getting to his feet.

"Yeah," Mickey responds copying the redhead. He moves towards the stairs, listening as Ian coaxes Lip into laying down, helping the older boy prop his ankle up on the arm of the couch.

He then joins Mickey, gesturing to the shorter boy to head up, whispering, “Debbie isn’t going to be happy we didn’t call her and Carl, but there wasn’t any time.” Mickey felt the younger boy grab his hand, squeezing it, giving him a small smile. “Thanks for watching Liam.”

Just like with Fiona, Mickey shrugs and says, “Don’t worry about it.” He adds, “You gonna be okay?”

"After some sleep, I’ll be fine," Ian replies falling face first onto his bed, pulling Mickey down next to him, still gripping the shorter boy’s hand tightly.

It doesn’t take long for Ian to nod off, softly snoring in Mickey’s ear, but before the shorter boy goes to sleep, his eyes settle on Liam, peacefully sleeping, and he decides he doesn’t mind the kid at all.

* * *

 

The fifth time Ian left Liam with Mickey, it’s Mickey’s idea. Finally, after months of pestering (from Mickey, Fiona,  _and_  Lip), Ian quit his job at the club.

He managed to talk Linda into an interview, the shop owner telling Ian she wasn’t going to just hand him his old job back, but the day of his interview Fiona needed to work late at the diner, Lip couldn’t make it back home that night, and Debbie and Carl were at some sort of lock-in at the school.

"I’ll watch the kid," Mickey says when Ian starts complaining about being late, neither Kevin nor Veronica picking up their phones.

"Are you sure?" Ian asks carefully, clutching his phone in his hands.

"Yeah." Mickey shrugs, smiling down at Liam. "Besides, I don’t got anything better to do today."

"Okay," Ian concedes with a nod, already running towards the door. "You know where everything is! Call me if you need anything!"

The second the door closes behind Ian, Mickey turns to Liam and asks, “Have you ever made root beer floats?”

Liam shook his head, asking, “What are those?”

"It’s root beer and ice cream," Mickey answers and at the mention of ice cream, Liam scrambles off the couch and races into the kitchen. With a smirk, Mickey follows the kid.

He learns, very quickly, that the Gallaghers do not have ice cream, or root beer for that matter, but instead of telling Liam they can’t have root beer floats, Mickey says, “We’re going to the store.”

He bundles the kid up in a sweatshirt, makes sure the door is locked behind him, pocketing the key Ian has slipped him months ago, and ushers the kid off the porch and down the front walk.

They walk in silence for a bit, but Liam breaks it by pointing at a bird. “Those say peep, peep, peep,” he informs Mickey. “And those,” he points to a stray cat, scrounging around for food scraps, “say meow.”

"And what do I say?" Mickey asks curiously.

"Fuck?" Liam guesses tilting his head to the side.

Mickey snorts, but nods, ruffling the kid’s hair. “Close enough.”

They take the subway to the store, Mickey glaring at the creepy dude who keeps looking at Liam. If that asshole tries anything, Mickey will pull his blade on him, fuck the consequences.

Luckily, the dude keeps his hands to himself, and Liam and Mickey make it to the store without incident. Liam quietly asks if he can push one of the little carts, and Mickey gestures to the only one with all four wheels, following the kid as he heads deeper into the store.

With some navigating on Mickey’s part, Liam manages to find the freezer section. He stands by the coolers, looking up at all the ice cream, and asks, “Can we get that one?” He’s pointing at a container of chocolate ice cream, looking back at Mickey expectantly.

"I’ve never had root beer floats with chocolate, but okay." Mickey opens the freezer, reaching up to grab the container, but Liam tugs on his pant leg. He looks down at the kid, eyebrows raised. "Yeah?"

"Can I get it?"

It’d be easier if Mickey got the container himself, but he felt his resolve crack and he nods, swinging the kid up, into his arms. He points to the ice cream he was going to grab, watching as Liam wraps his arms around it and pulls it down.

"I did it!" the kid exclaims hugging the ice cream to his chest, beaming happily when Mickey places him on the floor.

"Nice one," Mickey praises Liam, and the kid’s smile widens, if that’s even possible, and he puts the ice cream in his cart.

"Where next?" Liam asks curiously looking up at Mickey.

"We need root beer," Mickey replies and they set off, heading towards the soda aisle. Liam asks if he can get the soda, too, and Mickey agrees, lifting the kid up again.

The kid’s grip slips on the soda, sending it to the floor. It explodes on impact, spraying Mickey, Liam, and anything in a five foot radius with soda.

"Uh-oh," Liam whispers, his eyes wide, looking down at the soda from Mickey’s arms.

"You can say that again," Mickey murmurs before blindly grabbing another root beer. He tosses it into Liam’s cart, quickly leaving the aisle, fumbling a bit with the cart as he tries to keep a hold of Liam.

Once they’re three aisles away, Mickey sets Liam down, wiping his sticky hands on his pants. “This has been very eventful,” he comments sarcastically, and the smaller boy nods. “Ready to go?” The kid nods again, already heading out of the aisle at a half-run.

While they stand in the check-out line, waiting for the lady ahead of them to sort through her coupons, Mickey is aware of a voice above them requesting  someone cleanup aisle ten.

Liam gives him an ‘uh-oh’ face, and Mickey snorts, shaking his head. As a young, pimply teenager walks past them, holding a mop, grumbling under his breath, Mickey quickly puts his items on the conveyor belt, reaching into his wallet for some cash.

After he’s rung up and paid, the cashier giving him and Liam suspicious looks, Mickey ushers the kid out of the store, leaving the tiny cart by the door.

"How’s about we don’t tell Ian, Fiona, or Lip about this, kay?" Mickey glances down at Liam who nods, swinging his arms back and forth, humming to himself.

After another subway ride, the two walk back to the Gallaghers’ place, Liam playing some sort of game where he jumps over the cracks in the sidewalk.

"You having fun?" MIckey asks with a grin.

"Yeah," Liam answers jumping over another crack.

"Alright."

Mickey unlocks the Gallaghers’ front door, allowing Liam to go inside before him, closing the door behind them. He heads into the kitchen, the smaller boy following him, and puts the bag on the counter.

"You ready to make a bigger mess?" Mickey questions curiously, glancing down at Liam.

"Yeah!" the kid exclaims jumping up and down.

"I knew I liked you," Mickey replies ruffling the kid’s hair. "Don’t tell your brother," the older boy continues pulling a couple glasses down from the cabinet, "but you’re my favorite Gallagher."

Liam grins, swinging his body back and forth, and Mickey returns the smile, setting the cups down so he can lift the kid up and put him onto the counter. “Alright, the secret to a perfect root beer float is a shit ton of ice cream.”

"Shit ton of ice cream," Liam repeats nodding. Mickey shakes his head, figuring the kid’s heard worse living around here, and retrieves a spoon from the drawer.

"You ready for this?" he asks meeting Liam’s eyes.

"Yeah," the kid answers nodding.

"Alright, let’s do this," Mickey says and scoops the ice cream from the container, adding it to the cup.

Two ice cream floats later, Liam is practically jumping off the walls, and Mickey is deciding that maybe he acted prematurely when he told Liam he was his favorite Gallagher. 

* * *

 

Ian returns home a few hours later, Linda making him sit through all of the training videos before giving him his job back, to find Mickey and Liam passed out on the couch, the latter curled up on the former’s chest.

A small smile appears on Ian’s face, and he carefully walks past his boyfriend and little brother, heading into the kitchen, stopping when he finds the place a complete mess.

Oh, Mickey is so dead.


End file.
